Memories
by princessjoey630
Summary: Gibbs drives around a bit before leaving Stillwater. Possible spoilers for Heartland. Oneshot.


A/N Just something I came up with while listening to 'Lost' over and over again. I love that last scene of Heartland. Actually, I loved the whole episode.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Except a computer, various hair clips and a bottle with ladybugs in it.

Enjoy!

* * *

Memories

Gibbs had been driving around for nearly two hours now. Coming back to Stillwater had brought back memories for him, and everywhere he looked he saw Shannon.

He stopped as yet another train passed.

_They took their seats, facing each other. They were silent until the train was in motion again._

"_So your dad is the man who runs the general store. Jackson," Shannon said._

_Gibbs stared at her for a moment._

"_Yeah," Gibbs replied. He wasn't exactly a good conversationalist, especially when sitting right near a very pretty girl. He was quite proud of himself for the small talk they'd had while at the station. "Yeah, that's my dad."_

"_I thought I'd seen you in the store."_

"_I've seen you around too" Gibbs countered, trying to hide his nervousness._

_Shannon laughed slightly._

"_What do you parents do?" he asked, trying to keep the conversation going._

"_My dad's a mechanic in the next town over. Mum's a teacher"_

_Gibbs didn't reply. He was thinking about his mother now._

_Shannon's expression changed. "Marion Gibbs was your mother, wasn't she?" she asked, even though it wasn't really a question._

"_Yes," Gibbs replied, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. "You knew her?"_

"_My mum talked about her a lot. I think they saw each other often." Shannon could tell this was a difficult topic for him, but maybe, just maybe, they could establish a strong trust between them by talking about it. "I went to the funeral as well."_

"_You did?"_

_Shannon smiled. "I'm pretty sure the whole town did. Everyone seemed to like her. A lot."_

_Gibbs smiled in return._

Driving around again, Gibbs thought about that train ride discussion. She'd been frank, honest, and open about his mother's death. From the moment they met, Shannon had proven herself to be the best friend he needed.

He drove past the icecream shop and park.

"_Try this," Shannon said, sticking her rapidly melting dessert under his nose as they walked. "Go on, try it."_

_In the six months that they'd been dating, Gibbs had become a different person. Shannon had changed him. He was no longer as petulant towards his father, and he'd taken her advice – he'd stopped fighting with Ed and Chuck. _

_He was in the Navy still, but returned home every opportunity that he could, just to see her._

_He bent forward and tasted her icecream. He pulled away, trying to hide his disgust. "Nice."_

_Shannon turned to face him and tilted her head to one side. "Really. You think so, do you?" she grinned._

_He didn't answer; instead he turned away._

_She pushed her icecream in his face._

"_Oh, nice, Shan, nice," he laughed. He picked her up and put her over his shoulders, spinning around and listening to her squeals of laughter._

_Eventually they collapsed on the grass, both still laughing._

_He wiped the remaining icecream off his face and looked at her. She'd managed to get some on her face too._

_He reached a hand out to wipe it off, but instead ended up pulling her in closer. Without thinking, he closed his eyes and kissed her._

_After a moment, he pulled away to see Shannon still smiling. He leant in and kissed her again._

Gibbs grinned just thinking about it. Smiling. She was always smiling. She made everything brighter.

He'd rarely seen her upset. One time stood out the most.

_He rang the doorbell for the third time. He knew she was home; all the cars were there and she'd told him to meet him there for their date._

_The door opened slowly and she poked her head out. "Jethro?"_

_She'd begun calling him that soon after they began dating._

"_You almost ready to…" He saw that she'd been crying. Her face was blotchy and her long hair looked rumpled. "What's wrong?"_

_Strangely enough, Gibbs still thought she was beautiful. No matter what the situation, she always managed to amaze him._

_Shannon stepped outside and shut to door behind her quietly. "Mum…she had to go back to the hospital this morning…"_

_Gibbs understood. Her mother, Katherine, had had health issues for many years. "Okay…"_

"_She…she…died. She died this morning. My mother is dead. She's gone." Shannon began crying, tears falling thick and fast down her cheeks._

_Gibbs pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her, letting her cry into his chest. Shannon had been very close to Katherine._

_He remembered how he had felt when his mother had died. Angry. Upset. But mostly angry._

_He wondered whether Shannon would be angry about Katherine._

_An hour later they were still outside, except now they were sitting on the steps, her head resting on his shoulder. For a while he'd thought she was asleep, but then she would mutter to herself every once in a while and tighten her hold on him._

_He was glad that he could be there for her. They had discussed his past, his family, and she had been there to support him, but nothing had ever really happened that required him to be there to this extent._

DiNozzo rang Gibbs after a few hours, wondering where the boss had ended up. Gibbs simply replied that he'd be there soon, although he had no intention of ending his drive down memory lane.

He rarely discussed Shannon around the team. There were a few occasions; when Ziva had first come to NCIS, when Jen had been with him in the hospital after his second coma, and when Ducky had been mad at him.

He wasn't the kind of person to talk about his personal life. To explain it he would need hours. Shannon…he couldn't even think of where to start describing her.

"_Are you going to tell me where we're going?" Shannon asked. After they had finished dinner he had taken her by the hand and walked her around town._

"_We're nearly there," he said, just managing to keep his excitement inside._

_They'd been dating for a few years now. Shannon had had her 19__th__ birthday a few months earlier, and Gibbs was 22._

_Finally they stopped walking. Gibbs stared at her. "You don't remember?"_

"_Remember what?" Shannon replied, looking around. "It's the train station."_

"_Exactly."_

_Shannon still looked confused._

"_We met here," Gibbs said, a little disappointed that she didn't think of that immediately._

"_I know…"_

_Now his nerves were kicking in. He had it all planned out. He just had to begin._

_He knelt down on one knee._

"_Oh my God," Shannon breathed. "__Jethro__."_

_Gibbs paused for a moment, considering his plan again. He didn't need the whole speech. She knew why he loved her. She knew everything._

_He pulled the little green box out from his pocket and opened it. "Will you marry me?"_

Gibbs laughed out loud at that memory.

He continued driving around, passing the church where they were married, and the house they had lived in before they moved to Washington.

Finally he drove onto the highway and left Stillwater, returning to Washington.

No-one could replace Shannon. No-one could even come close.

* * *

A/N Please review!


End file.
